New details emerge in shooting death of Anchorage apartment manager
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A man was taken into custody early Thursday morning in connection to a shooting that left a man dead earlier this week.
According to Anchorage police, Alaska State Troopers responded to reports of a verbal disturbance at a residence on West Joe’s Drive in the Meadow Lakes area and identified one of the individuals involved in the disturbance as 27-year-old Jesse Jones.
A warrant was issued for Jones on Oct. 24, the day after a shooting at the Alpine Apartments in Anchorage left 34-year-old manager Josiah Goecker dead.
Charging documents released Thursday detail the Oct. 23 shooting that occurred in the leasing office of the apartment complex around 3:45 p.m. A member of the complex’s management team called Anchorage police to report that her colleague Goecker had been shot several times. Police arrived to find Goecker dead from the five gunshot wounds he sustained.
Earlier in the day, Goecker had posted an eviction notice to the door of one of the apartment units in the complex. Someone staying at that apartment, later identified as Jesse Jones, returned to the leasing office with the eviction notice in hand. Jones handed the eviction notice to one of the apartment employees and asked, “Are you really kicking me and my pregnant girlfriend out onto the streets?” before pulling a silver handgun out of a pocket and attempting to fire it, charging documents said.
The weapon malfunctioned and Goecker and Jones engaged in a struggle over the weapon. Jones quickly removed the pistol’s magazine, replaced it, and then fired five shots at Goecker.
Anchorage police contacted Jones’ girlfriend who confirmed that he lived in the apartment unit with her. She told police that she was unaware they had been served an eviction notice.
Also staying in the apartment was Jones’ mother. Jones’ girlfriend told police that Jones’ mother gave her son a handgun that resembled the one used in the shooting, but it was usually kept in a shoe box in the apartment. Police later located the shoe box, but the gun was not inside.
Police also reviewed surveillance footage from the leasing office and ultimately determined Jones was the person seen in the surveillance video. Jones’ mother was also seen in surveillance video at the leasing office. A subsequent search of the apartment complex did not locate Jones.
When officers eventually made contact with Jones on Oct. 26, he was taken into custody without incident and remanded to APD.
Jones now faces charges of first-degree murder, two charges of second-degree murder, and third-degree assault. A condition of his arrest prohibits Jones from contacting the other apartment complex employee who was present at the time of the shooting. He is expected to be arraigned on Oct. 27.
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